Erza scowled and depressed the doorbell again. The townhouse was silent. She circled back around to the front of the house and peeked in the garage windows. Only Jellal's car sat in the darkened garage. She already knew that, though. Anna was with her mother at their apartment and Acnologia… well who knew where he was; business travel most likely. Erza swore under her breath and returned to the front door. She knelt down and dug her set of keys from her equipment bag. The door suddenly swung open and a very sleep-disheveled Jellal stood in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a yawn, leaving the door open for her but still turning back around to head to the kitchen.

"You're kidding me right?" Erza shouldered her bag and kicked the front door closed behind her with her heel. "We have that meeting today with the academy director and that's before we run through that new routine. It's a mess."

"Yeah, I know all that." Jellal guzzled orange juice from the carton the way Erza knew Anna hated. "But why are you here now at six in the morning on the first weekday where we are officially no longer high school students? I should be asleep."

"Jesus, Jellal, did you breakup with your brains, too? You said you wanted to run this morning. I got up at five o'clock to be here by six!"

"Did I say that?"

"Yes!" Erza snatched the juice carton from him and sneered at it before dumping the remainder of tainted juice down the sink drain and tossing the container. "Get dressed!"

"Yeah, yeah." Jellal turned to shuffle out of the kitchen and when Erza followed, he raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure you actually dress and come back down. I'm not sitting around here for a half hour before I realize you've gone back to bed."

Jellal sighed and took the stairs two at a time. Erza followed him right into his room and stretched out across his bed to prevent him from returning to it.

"You're really annoying today," he muttered, throwing his dirty sleep shirt in her face.

"You're annoying every day." Jellal's phone blared an alarm and Erza reached for it. "Have you been snoozing this alarm for half an hour?"

"Maybe," he called from the closet.

"So you did remember about running, you just didn't feel like letting me know you wanted to sleep instead?"

"It's not that deep, Erza. I just hit snooze a bunch of times without thinking." When he emerged from his closet he'd changed into a pair of track pants and a clean shirt. "Toss me my shoes, will you? They're over on the other side of the bed."

Erza retrieved his shoes and held them out in her hand. "Are you even going to be able to keep up with me? You look like shit."

"I'll do just fine."

"I'm so glad I've never had such depressing breakups," Erza said haughtily. The words slipped out before she could stop them and she instantly regretted saying anything.

"I must've slept through your relationships," Jellal muttered. "Did you have one of those? I don't recall."

"Labels don't matter."

"The only people who say that are the people who have hookups and then try to comment on actual relationships like they know what they're talking about."

"I hope you have some breath left after all that talking. I'm not going to run slower so you can keep up."

Jellal tucked away his shoelaces and stood. "We'll see who can keep up. There's a new trail by the pond."

"Trail? But –"

"Oh, are you backing out?" His expression was viciously challenging and Erza found her ego wasn't so easily tucked away as his shoelaces.

"Absolutely not."

Jellal left his house key in the planter by the front door and led them down the street to the park at the dead end. The trail was a fine blend of woodchips that disappeared into the trees. Erza tried to can her unease. She didn't like natural trails, they made her feel uneasy and off balance. Jellal knew that. Maybe she shouldn't have teased him about his breakup with Yukino.

"Three miles," he said, his eyes already beyond the trees.

"Right," Erza whispered. She glanced over at him but he didn't return the look. Without warning he took off running and Erza huffed in frustration before following.

The morning air was thick with summer humidity and the only sound she could hear was the puff of their breaths and the smack of their shoes on the trail. She couldn't relax because the loose chips made her feel like she could twist an ankle at any moment. The only other occupants of the trail were a pair of old women who looked to be wildflower enthusiasts.

After a slogging thirty minutes, Erza heaved a breath of relief when the pond came back into view. Jellal slowed to a walk and clutched the sides of his t-shirt. If he was experiencing any fatigue he didn't show it.

"I win," he breathed.

"It wasn't a race," Erza gasped. Her legs felt like jelly. She hated running on natural trails.

"What about if we race back home?"

Erza scowled and sucked in a deep breath before she bolted back toward the sidewalk. She thought maybe she heard Jellal protest from behind her but she powered through the burn in her legs and flew all the way back to the townhouse.

"Now that was cheating," he said with much less force than before. Erza grinned but said nothing – she lacked the breath. She followed Jellal inside and suddenly felt petulant once they were back in his bedroom.

"Why did you stay with her for so long?" she demanded. Jellal didn't hesitate like she thought he would.

"Because with Yukino things were simple."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Erza grabbed his arm and watched as he kicked off his sneakers instead of answering her. "Tell me why you were with her and not –" she faltered. This was the question always on the tip of her tongue and sometimes she thought he always expected her to ask.

"And not you?" His grin was sharp.

"Yes. Why were you with Yukino for almost two years when you're…" Erza's eyes searched his face and she realized he'd grant her absolutely no quarter on this front.

"Because Yukino wasn't a liar."

"Excuse me?"

Jellal shrugged but didn't move away from her. "I asked you so many times if there was a reason why I shouldn't date her and you said no. Over and over you said no."

"But –"

"So I went out with someone who told me every day how much she loved me and appreciated me and I never had to ask her or prompt her."

"That's not fair, Jellal," Erza whispered.

"No, you know what's not fair?" He moved closer to her and she could see every sun freckle on his nose. "What's not fair is me always doing the work so you don't have to. When we were eight I watched you struggle with things you were absolutely capable of doing. It was so fucking hard to watch you cry in class so I fixed it. I stepped in and made it better and I haven't stopped doing that ever since. I'm always right behind you and, Erza, I'm not even mad. You're my best friend, my first friend, in this whole shitty world and I love you. I love being your partner. It makes me happy."

Erza felt her throat tightening and tried to stave off tears.

"You've always given me a soft place to land when I didn't understand why my parents weren't like other parents. When they divorced you held my hand and made that whole thing better. I honestly can't imagine my life without you." His face softened and Erza frowned. "But when it comes to this," he whispered. "When it comes to this specific kind of love, I'm not doing the work for you. I won't. I can't. Yukino made me realize that I deserve to be told without prompting and without prodding that I'm worth the effort."

Erza opened her mouth but the words were stuck. They'd been stuck for ages and she didn't know how to get them out.

"If you want me, Erza, you'll have to tell me. You'll have to be the one to come to me. That's just how it has to be for me."

Jellal stepped away from her and tugged his shirt over his head and before disappearing into the bathroom. She heard the water switch on and felt a storm gathering in her chest.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm showering." He reappeared in the doorway of the bathroom in nothing but his boxer briefs. "You're welcome to join me, Erza. You know how to make that happen."

Irrational, stubborn anger overtook her and she crossed her arms over her chest. Jellal shrugged again and she watched him retreat into the bathroom. The shower door clicked closed and Erza's arms fell to her sides.

He's right. The voice in her head said in a patronizing tone. Erza's heart raced as she kicked off her own shoes, tugged off her socks and left a trail of clothes leading into the bathroom. The last thing she shrugged off was her bra and it landed in a pile along with Jellal's pants. She stepped into the shower and watched the soap slide from his shoulders.

Erza felt completely at a loss. He'd also been right in his assessment of her relationships – she'd never had one. Not a serious one anyway. She reached out to touch his arm and Jellal suddenly spun around. His hands found her waist and she wondered how she'd been in his arms so many times over the years and never once took the next step closer.

"Do you have something to say to me, Erza?" he asked, pressing his forehead against hers. His lips were so, so close.

"You were right."

"Was I?" He grinned and Erza realized every part of her was touching every part of him. It thrilled her in a way nothing else had.

"About all of it. I – I haven't had a relationship like yours. I didn't want one. And also about the other stuff." Her mind was slowly turning to a wad of sex-flavored mush.

"What other stuff?"

"Uh, the stuff about you doing all the work. I'm sorry." Erza's eyes slid closed when he pressed his cheek against hers and she felt his lips against her ear.

"And?"

"And I want you, Jellal. I want to be with you and not just in this shower but all the time and everywhere and I'm sorry for lying to you I just didn't know what to say or how to say –"

"Erza," he whispered, leaving a kiss on her cheek. "That's too many words."

"Okay."

Jellal's hands moved from her hips down to her thighs and he lifted her with practiced ease. Erza hooked her ankles together and slid her arms over his shoulders.

"I love you," she whispered in a breath. "I love you and I'm in love with you."

"I know. I just needed you to say it."

The shower spray soaked her hair and her skin and the soap that still sluiced from his skin made everything slick and slippery but Jellal's grip on her was firm. When he kissed her lips finally she realized she'd been wasting her time. And when he slid inside of her, she could think of nothing else.


Jellal blotted her hair dry with studious reverence. She picked at her nails as he combed conditioner into it and twisted it into the kind of braid she preferred when they were working.

"What now?" Erza asked absently. She glanced up at the bathroom mirror and her eyes lingered on the lean muscle lines that dipped below the towel around his waist.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what do we do now? Is this it? Are we…"

"It doesn't need to be complicated," he muttered, tying off the end of her braid. "We'll just… be a couple now. I guess."

Erza spun around and touched his chest. "You guess?"

"Yeah, I mean… yeah."

"How do we do that?"

"I don't know what you're asking." He traced the curve of her neck and shoulder with one finger.

"Is there some kind of transition? Or do we need to make a Facebook post? I just don't know how to be a couple now."

"We'll figure it out. This isn't what I'm used to either." Jellal smiled and brushed his lips against hers. "I don't care, though, Erza. I want this, too."

Erza dropped her hands to the fold of his towel and tugged. He lifted her to the edge of the counter and pulled at her towel but a shrieking alarm ruined everything.

"I think that means we have to get going," Erza whispered.

Jellal sighed and kissed her once more. "We can't skip it?"

"Nope. It's important, I think."

He nodded and retucked her towel closed. "Let's go, then. I want to eat, too."

Erza dressed quickly, grateful she'd thought ahead to pack everything needed for the day in her bag earlier that morning. Jellal reached for her hand as he flipped off his bedroom light. Erza grabbed her bag and followed him down to the kitchen – where she promptly walked right into his back.

"What the hell, Jellal," she complained, stepping around him. The eyes of both Anna and Eileen were fixated on them. "Uh, mom –" Erza spluttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Having breakfast," Eileen said blandly. "How was your run?"

Erza felt her gaze so acutely she wasn't sure whether to release Jellal's hand or squeeze it to death.

"Fine," Erza blurted. "It was fine. I took a shower. Here. I mean, obviously."

Anna quirked an eyebrow and Erza felt Jellal's incredulous gaze.

"I see. Don't you two have a lesson soon?"

"We do," Jellal finally managed. "We should go and do that." He glanced at his mother and then awkwardly pulled Erza from the kitchen. Jellal said nothing until they were in the garage. "That was awful."

"I didn't think they'd be here," Erza fussed. Jellal slid into the driver's seat and Erza into the passenger side. She clicked her seatbelt into place and sighed.

"Well, I think we can agree that's not what we talked about when it comes to moving forward together."

"Yeah, no, that was bad." Erza chewed on her lip. "Do you think they know?"

"Of course they know. Your mom has eyes like a hawk. We might've escaped her all seeing gaze if you hadn't announced to the world we were in the shower together."

"I didn't do that!"

"You did." Jellal grinned and reached over to squeeze her thigh. "It's okay. We'll figure it out. We aren't doing anything wrong and this is all completely fine."


"I'm sorry, what?" Erza asked, trying to remain calm. "A tour? With a real troupe?"

"That's what I said," the academy director said smoothly. "They want you both for ten performances over the summer. Two alternating programs."

Jellal's composed front was much better than Erza's. "We could do the classical piece from last summer –"

"No, they want acro," the director interrupted. "I was thinking the new piece with the side somis and pitch tucks, and the piece from the spring show with all the jumps."

"The new piece isn't ready," Erza whispered.

"It's ready," Jellal insisted. "Or it will be soon. When do they want us?"

"You've got eight days before the first show. You'll need to fly out to the rest of the troupe in five."

"But –" Erza's heart thudded painfully. Jellal reached over and closed his hand around hers.

"Everything is paid for," the director went on. "Your salary for the tour will be paid at the end. I don't think I have to say how much this will benefit the dance academy. No pressure, of course, but the two of you are the best we have at the moment. You're a little young for a traveling show like this but there really isn't another acro team doing what you do. The fusion of ballet and acrobatics is unique."

"We'll be ready. Right, Erza?" Jellal looked over at her and some of the nerves in her chest fizzled away – some but not all.

"Yeah," she whispered. "We'll be ready."

"Good. Make me proud."

Jellal stood first and led Erza from the office and up two floors. He didn't stop until they were alone in the third floor hallway.

"Stop panicking," he said, covering her shoulders with his hands. "This is an incredible opportunity."

"Jellal," she huffed. "You know damn well that new piece is not anywhere near performance level yet!"

"But it will be. We've got five days before we have to fly out. We can be here every day until then making sure everything is perfect."

Erza bit her lip and felt anxiety churn in her stomach. All of the things that could go horribly, and embarrassingly wrong flashed in her mind like a horrible peep show.

"What are we going to tell our parents?"

"The truth."

"What if we fuck it all up? What if I fall and –"

"I would never let that happen, Erza." He inched closer to her and slid his thumbs over the edges of her jaw. "This is our first big thing as a new team, okay? We've been working for years for this kind of opportunity. We're ready."

Erza took several deep breaths. "Okay. Yeah, okay, you're right. The new piece needs some work but we can do that, no problem."

Jellal kissed her quickly and took her hand again. She tried to focus on the excitement of everything that had just happened but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this wasn't the transition she'd expected.